Exercise, Nuvigil, Zoloft, a Few Symptoms and Our Dog

Yesterday I got a “lot” of exercising done. First I did 30 minutes on the recumbent bike. Then I did 10 minutes on the elliptical which I decided to move into my room because I really want to step things up a bit in 2017 (no one else was using it). I still felt like I needed to just move so I went on a walk around the block. It felt nice to be outside without the sun melting my flesh but something I have been noticing for a while now is that sometimes when I walk my foot will skid across the floor. Not my toe like drop foot but the flat of my foot like I am not lifting it up high enough. I noticed this a lot on my walk so I have to figure out what is causing that. I think I remember something about that being due to a weak muscle but I can’t really remember. I also noticed just how poor my gate has become! I need to correct that… After that I still felt like I had to move so I decided to do some planks since it had been a while thanks to me having gotten sick. I was surprised to find that instead of tiring out at 1:30 minutes I did 2 minutes no problem which is far from impressive but definitely proof that I am experiencing progress which is motivating in itself! The one thing that has become clear is that if I push myself too hard I start feeling really dizzy so I have to watch for that…

Something that has been frustrating me lately is that I seem to be really clumsy (more than usual). My hands seem to just fumble around whether I am trying to manipulate something in my hand or type (I am just hitting so many more random keys lately). Even using the mouse! I find myself clicking all around something before I finally hit my target! What is going on? Is it a coordination issue or motor issue or what? I don’t know… but it’s frustrating. If it keeps up I’ll have to bring it up to my neurologist.

Speaking of my neurologist, I have been trying to get an appointment with him to either try something new to replace my Nuvigil or just get a refill but it’s been difficult. I am sick of this stuff but I feel trapped because it definitely lets me get my work done but the side effects just suck! I also started trying to taper off my Zoloft again starting at ½ my full dose on Saturday so this time I am going to go really slow so I don’t have any sort of discontinuation symptoms like last time. Wish me luck!

Well I have to go because what has become a major issue is our new dog needing so much attention. Not him actually wanting attention but I have to constantly check up on him to make sure he is not getting into trouble and making a mess! So I started giving him a “Kong” full of frozen peanut butter and that worked great at first but then our other dog wanted it and when she got it the puppy would start barking his head off! Hard to work through that! He also has decided that between 4:00am and 6:00am he wants to be let out to run around so be starts barking and wakes us all up… He has been such a handful so I am not sure what I am going to do… But yeah, time to let him outside so I will be posting soon! I am currently working on all my articles about symptoms and medications and all the good stuff that should be up in the menu at the top of my blog so I will probably be posting some of that soon.

PS – sorry for all the late responses to comments lately, WordPress stopped sending me email alerts when someone comments so I never know they are there!

9 thoughts on “Exercise, Nuvigil, Zoloft, a Few Symptoms and Our Dog”

Interesting read. Dogs are therapeutic in some sense, but quite a pain sometimes.

I’ve been curious for some time, and you might have told us and I over looked it, but why did they determine that you were never disabled? It’s my understanding that an approved doctor has to deem you disabled in the first place.

Oh, and congratulations on your progression! It doesn’t matter how small improvements are.

Yes, they can be both (dogs). As far as SSI, they never REALLY gave an answr, it always says something like “based on the paperwork you filed we have determined you were not disabled” and their doctors? They are just MDs who know nothing about disease like MS but are there to simply sign w/e the SSA wants so it looks like you were “totally checked out by a doctor”.

Hi Matt. I came across your posts by accident when I was searching for lesion info. You need to strengthen your core. Also strengthen and work on flexibility of your hip flexors to help with dragging your foot. Our bodies will take the path of least resistance … the easiest way.
Marleen

2017 isn’t so far away. Once those muscles get really weak it’s tough to build them back. And da lling isn’t a good thing. You may want to look into ankle to foot orthotics (AFO) at some point. Mine look more like a brace versus the hard plastic mold. After dealing with this for 16 years it feels more like a constant battle.